Kontinental Hockey League VP Vladimir Shalaev said that the league "will halt next season's schedule a full two weeks before the start of the Sochi 2014 Olympics hockey tournament," according to R-SPORT. The 52-game season, which starts on Sept. 4 in Moscow, will break on Jan. 30, and resume on Feb. 26. The first Olympic hockey game is scheduled for Feb. 12.
The sizeable rest starkly contrasts what the NHL and NHL Players’ Association "are proposing for its schedule as part of ongoing negotiations with international hockey officials and Olympic organizers over releasing its players for the Games."
NHL officials have said that the league would pause on Feb. 9, giving Olympians "only three days to fly to Europe." Shalaev attacked the '13-14 schedule, saying he was "embarrassed" it offers only 52 games due to int'l hockey commitments. He said, "A league like the KHL has no right giving fans only 52 games in the regular season. It’s a mockery; it’s like making Pavarotti sing once a year" (R-SPORT, 6/17).